This week Amber West and I dive back into the world of science fiction on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday, as she updates us on her latest thoughts on Fox’s first season of Terra Nova and I introduce one of SyFy’s new popular series, Being Human.

Okay, perhaps it’s not so much of a surprise that Being Human is a big hit; let’s be honest, the supernatural is the new big thing – vampires, werewolves, ghosts, witches, demons, etc. Men and women alike dream of having some sort of fantastical power or paranormal romantic interest in his or her life. This isn’t so much a new fad, but the Twilight books and movies (love ‘em or hate ‘em) birthed a new generation of supernatural lovers.

So if we want the supernatural in our life, why be shocked that they want to be like us – be human? That’s the premise of SyFy’s adaptation of a British hit, Being Human. The BBC program starts its fourth season (or series for the British folk) this year.

BBC's Being Human

The series follows three supernatural friends living in Boston, wishing they could go back to being human: a vampire, Aiden (Sam Witwer, one may recognize his face/likeness as the lead character in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars); a werewolf, Josh (Sam Huntington, Superman Returns); and a ghost, Sally (Meaghan Roth).

SyFy's Being Human

Aiden and Josh work at the hospital, Aiden as a nurse and Josh as an orderly. One might wonder why a vampire would work in a hospital surrounded by blood all the time, especially when he fights day and night to not feed like a “normal” vampire. But despite the obvious torture of his career path, he remains faithful to helping those who need him.

Aiden was turned in the late 1700s during the Revolutionary War, leaving behind a wife and son. Throughout the years, Aiden remains close to his maker (Bishop, played by the great Mark Pellegrino, also known as the Devil from Supernatural, or Brenda Leigh’s attorney from The Closer), but recently has started to distance himself from him. This undoubtedly has caused quite a heave-ho type relationship between the two, and makes for some of the best scenes.

But then again, doesn’t Mark Pellegrino steal the scenes of most everything he does?

Josh doesn’t quite have the same daily struggles as Aiden, but then again a werewolf only turns once a month during a full moon. However when it is “that time of the month,” Josh panics and does everything in his power to not hurt anyone. Sometimes he locks himself up in the catacomb-like basement of the hospital, or sometimes he drives out to the woods and roams free (but the latter has proven a bit more dangerous for him on more than one occasion, so one can usually count on his locking himself up).

Perhaps a blessing, or perhaps not, Josh meets Nora (Kristen Hager, Aliens Vs Predator) at the hospital and the two begin dating. Josh shelves his sexual attraction to her for as long as he can, afraid he will hurt Nora. But he finally gives in to the urge on the eve of a full moon. This encounter leads to a pregnancy and later a miscarriage, but not before Nora starts to show signs of turning herself. This makes for a very interesting storyline in season two…

Then there’s Sally, poor little ol’ Sally. Aiden and Josh meet Sally when they move into the brownstone that she recently died in, or better yet – was murdered in, courtesy of a light shove (or angry, it depends on the point of view) from her fiancé Danny (Gianpaolo Venuta). After Sally’s death, and for obvious reasons, Danny can no longer live in the couple’s starter home, so he rents it out to Aiden and Josh.

As a ghost, Sally is tied to the house and it takes a bit of time for her to learn the necessary abilities to move through time and space, thus having the freedom to leave the house. She really battles with the realization that Danny not only killed her, but later begins dating her best friend. To make matters even worse, Danny hires a medium to perform ghost-ridding-rituals on the house, angering Sally to no end. Despite being weakened from the mediums chants, Sally still manages to wreak havoc on her ex and empower herself.

But will she ever cross over?

Watching the three supernatural beings strive for everyday normalcy hooked me, maybe not in the first few episodes, but eventually the show definitely drew me in. So much so, that after our season one DVR marathon, I was tearing up at the thought of anything happening to the characters: like when Josh is forced to fight another werewolf for the vampire council’s amusement; or when Aiden decides to settle the score with his maker and fight until the death.

It is because of this love for the characters that I award Being Human the JFTV rating; it’s like an addiction to Kettle Baked Salt and Vinegar Chips that we just can’t get enough of, and before we know it, we’ve chomped down on every last chip inside the bag.

Definitely a Thumbs Up!

As soon as the first season ended, I was immediately online to see if Being Human had been picked up another year. It was! Season two premieres Monday, January 16th on SyFy.

What do you think? Do you watch Being Human? BBC or SyFy? Which of the characters is your favorite and why? I’d love to hear from you!

Now click over to Amber’s blog and see if Fox’s Terra Nova has moved up or down the rating scale since her last simmering review.

Come back next week when Amber and I review…. we don’t know yet. Tricked ya! We’ll figure something out in time. Don’t worry!

Remember to stop by the #watchwed hashtag in Twitter to discuss any of today’s reviews, or to mention any television programs that you’d like to see on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday in the future.

A Recap of The WatchWed Review System:

GTV (Gourmet TV): Everything we want and moreMacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfiesGMacTV (Gourmet MacNCheese TV): A combination of fine wine and comfort foodJFTV (Junk food TV): It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for secondsTBPTV (Twice Baked Potato TV): Part gourmet and delicious, while absolutely horrible for our cholesterolSSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still outNIV (Nyquil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timerLOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech

Reading leaves so much to the imagination, doesn’t it? I love to read. If you change your mind and are looking for something on Netflix, I would love for you to check this out and come back to tell us what you think. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Angela (and for all your help with Triberr last night)! <3

I hadn’t heard of this, but it’s right up my alley, Tiffany! Sounds intriguing. I would probably opt for the BBC version, for the sole reason that you could have all of that…with British accents. (Downton Abbey and Sherlock are obviously not enough to satisfy the Anglophile in me.) Syfy, though, does usually do a good job with its series.

I agree, Julie. Here lately, SyFy has done a wonderful job with their series (especially Warehouse 13!). I’d love to watch the BBC version from the beginning; your point about all the sexy supernatural PLUS a British accent does sound appealing. I hope you watch Being Human and come back to tell me what you think!

We watched the first season of Being Human. I had just kind of assumed it had gone away. It was fun watching it. It wasn’t a favorite, but one we would watch if we had nothing else on the DVR. As for Terra Nova, I ditched that one. Watched two episodes and couldn’t get into it, as much as I wanted to.

Hi, Jeff! I can relate regarding the slow start to Terra Nova. I probably wouldn’t have watched the entire season if the man in my house didn’t enjoy it so much. But he did, so I did, and I’m glad. It’s a very talked about show and it’ll be interesting to see if FOX renews it for a second season. The story definitely improved, but moved pretty darn fast. The “talking heads” have said repeatedly that the show was so very expensive to create, which I can see, so will the viewership be enough to keep it alive? It’s FOX, and they don’t seem to have the loyalty that other networks have to seemingly popular programs.

I hope you DVR the new season of Being Human and watch it when you have nothing else. I’m really looking forward to it.

Hmm I hadn’t heard of this. It sounds like books I used to read a kid. I’m always weary about getting attached to SyFy shows because they always get cancelled. Maybe I’ll check it out when the season is over!

Ok, you’ve inspired me to give this another shot. I watched half of season 1 of the BBC version and I liked the characters and some of the plots like Danny killing Sally were interesting, but it didn’t completely hook me. I also started out really WANTING to like Terra Nova cause I love Jurassic Park movies, but that one lost me too. Perhaps I will give a go to both and check out the SyFy series version of Being Human.

I’m currently on a fix of extremes highs and lows as I make my way through the first seasons of Glee and Mad Men. LOL. Why am I doing this? Oh yes, it’s winter…